Synopsis

When Wischtech threatened to invade the fiefs of Szaalanden, the Emperor dispatched fourteen youths. Of these, the Seven Heroes halted the invasion to herald a time of prosperity while the four Lances of Betrayal were supposedly defeated.

Two decades later, the Lances of Betrayal have reappeared and formed a bandit militia near the frontier fief Gormbark. A man with the black sword and a scar over his left eye slays an entire troop of that militia. He is identified as a boy, Kóinzell, and becomes as much an object of fear as of hope even as his own past, motivations, and purpose are a mystery to those he meets in his travel.

Background

Übel Blatt has been published in English by Yen Press since October 28, 2014; in Spanish by Norma Editorial since May 14, 2014; in German by KAZÉ Manga since October 8, 2014; and in Italian by Edizioni BD under the J-POP imprint since September 30, 2008.

MASTERPIECE....is what this manga is. In my opinion...cliche....does not exist with this one. I prefer action over everything! action movies, animes, and books. And this is definitely action with a story you cant hate...the only time i find myself hating the manga, is when i'm "waiting" on the next release.

The first few pages of the first chapter...i "really" wanted to drop this, because it seemed like a very smutty action manga with a pointless plot, but in the middle of the first chapter i realized if i drop this i would have regretted it. Now im addicted to another manga besides Berserk.

14 extraordinary warriors given a dangerous task by their emperor as the 14 lances to defeat a dangerous enemy. One of the warriors Ascheriit (now named Koinzell), a young, prodigious swordsman so skilled grants him the title of Blade Master. Losing 3 on the way there..struck with fear the remaining 7 decides to give up. Ascheriit and the other 3 decides to complete the task, and completed it. On the way back the 7 others plotted in fear of being called cowards ambushes the 4, killing them. The 7 return to the emperor as heroes and gaining wealth and the citizens loyalty. Telling the emperor that Ascheriit and the other3 betrayed them branding them as the lances of betrayal. Ascheriit determined not to die raged in anger eats a fairy allowing him to return 20 years later in a different identity, but taking a toll good and bad on his body. Annnnnd the journey to revenge starts noooow!read more

DO NOT LISTEN TO animeBee1ver's review, he rates incredible cliche and bad manga/anime with high ratings and has rather immature tastes. This manga, while I started off thinking it was going to be mediocre, has taken a turn for the better. This is a seinen mature manga, therefore they acknowledge the realities of sex, war and politics. It starts out with Koinzell on his quest for revenge and branches out into a depiction of the political intrigue and realities behind a peace that was created under false means and cowardice. I like how they used the 7 sins of man to depict the 7 heroes, which btw for all you people that automatically assume these with catholicism and religion, these are actually things that are more philosophical in nature and only artists and writers seem to explore these without assuming the basis being religion. What gets interesting is how one character's quest for revenge unveils the true personalities of the ones who were identified as heroes, and how the corruption of the kingdom ensued.

Story: 9

I am not fully read, and it is still ongoing, but like I stated up there, it is an interesting story. Right now where I am at, chapter 107, there are too many plotholes for me to understand fully how certain things are going on, and since I don't want to give spoilers, lets just say something happened and no explanation was given of how and why. Overall the story keeps you wanting to read if you like decent plots.

Art: 9

Amazing art, despite what people have said about the main character's design, the character designs in this manga are done well, and beautiful background art, some pieces as detailed as Berserk. While not as awesome as Berserk when it comes to the violent depictions of people and monsters getting slaughtered, it is still pretty damn awesome.

Character: 10

I love the characters, and I actually see development in Koinzell/Ascheriit. In the beginning it seems as if he wanted revenged solely out of anger, but what I see is much more than anger. You definitely see more than one side to him and you start to see that he is starting to move forward. You see how human the characters are, and even feel for the ones that die. You also see growth in someone who was stuck in the same place for a long time.

Enjoyment: 10

I enjoy reading this manga, and hope that it can reach a worthy conclusion. I just hope that this doesn't become a manga that gets shut down by the so called fans. I am not a fan, but I appreciate all things, so I will definitely support this artist in his pursuit of truth.

Overall 9

This manga is probably on my top 10, my first of course being Berserk and this being around second or third.

have you ever read a manga in your younger years and took it up again and you learn how much crap you see in every pages, every word, and every story?

Yes, this manga is definitely one of those.

boats floating, a sudden rival that existed for no other purpose than to show that the lead hero can be defeated, a whole series where I can certainly summarize in one sentence, fights where a dying opponent, where separated head, legs, arms, eyes crushed, suddenly becomes a god and can defeat all, unstoppable, where no hope can possible possess its victims, then... tada! the hero turns the table, bones reformed, crushed brain regenerates, then... tada! the opponent turns the table.

This goes on and on. People turning tables. Sigh. It is that kind of manga.

Then to the author's thinking, I would assume he thought his readers uncomprehending when 4 pages are drawn from every corner when the hero stabs the villain and die, I assume from wound infection considering how long they battled, like we are all unsuspecting of the outcome.

ps. I'm only now interested on the ending for the sake of my past self, I believe was having a coma when reading the manga, or perhaps dead.

Like many other mangas, I had looked into Ubel Blatt and then put it aside because of a in depth start that somewhat put me off. Later I decided to my current happiness to pick it up again. For those who are interested in reading this story, take my word as someone who constantly judges a book by the cover, even though you (and I) really shouldn't; give it 3-4 chapters before you give up on it, and yes it is a little confusing at first.

Ubel Blatt is not a typical story of a hero on a quest; instead it is a story of revenge at almost any cost. For me personally, I was glad that the MC wasn't a total push over towards his allies. He doesn't hold back if people give him a hard time and doesn't expend a ton of effort helping enemies in an attempt to convert them, in short he's an anti-hero.

For those people who are concerned about gore and sex, this might not be the manga for you, for while it's not rampant, it happens often enough to take notice.

tl;dr Try and at least read 3-4 chapters before you decide to drop it, it's well worth it.read more